A freelance journalist's 'vacation'

Creswell Chronicle Reporter Aliya Hall at a phone booth in Westminster, London with the Parliament building in the background.

When I first worked on this column, I was sitting in a London coffee shop outside of my Airbnb frantically trying to make deadline.

I originally planned this trip last November, a 10-day excursion to London, as a way to get tangible experience in travel writing; however, in practice, it became more of a test in balance: Pursing new stories and gathering interviews while finishing already promised articles on deadline with a seven hour time difference.

You see, as a freelance journalist, while I have no obligations to anyone - I simultaneously have obligations to everyone. I know, it's a p...